The invention relates to hose clips in general, and more particularly to improvements in hose clips of the type disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,541 granted May 26, 1992 to Stichel for "Hose clip".
The patent to Stichel discloses a hose clip wherein an elongated flexible strap can be placed around a selected portion of a hose (e.g., around that portion of a hose which surrounds a nipple) to be thereupon tightened around the hose in order to establish a sealing connection between the hose and the part which is received in the confined portion of the hose. An arcuate insert is installed between a portion of the internal surface of the strap and the adjacent portion of the external surface of the hose, and such insert is biased against the hose by one or more discrete springs which react against the internal surface of the strap and bear against the external surface of the insert. This ensures that the spring or springs can compensate for aging of the material of the hose, i.e., that the seal between the hose and a nipple or the like remains intact for extended periods of time. One end of the insert can be affixed to and the other end of the insert is slidable along and in the circumferential direction of the strap. The curvature of the internal surface of the insert equals or approximates the curvature of the non-overlapped portion of the internal surface of the strap. The flexibility of the insert preferably matches or approximates the flexibility of the strap.
The spring or springs which operate between the insert and the strap are separately produced parts which must be assembled with the insert or with the strap before the insert is positioned adjacent a selected portion of the internal surface of the strap. This contributes to the manufacturing cost as well as to assembly cost of the hose clip. In addition, it is necessary to maintain in storage large numbers of spare springs, either of a single type or of two or more different types.